


A Flurry of Flowers

by cathrheas



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Flowers, Fluff, Kid Byleth AU, Kissing, and rhea and sitri are her two mommies :')
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27475873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathrheas/pseuds/cathrheas
Summary: Rhea and Byleth grow some flowers for Sitri.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Rhea, Sitri Eisner | Byleth's Mother & My Unit | Byleth, Sitri Eisner | Byleth's Mother/Rhea
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	A Flurry of Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gazingatseiros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gazingatseiros/gifts).



> A gift for Gaz! I hope you enjoy, and sorry for the wait ><

It was difficult to wake Byleth up during the daytime if she decided she was tired, let alone before sunrise, but Rhea had to wake her up early in order to get to the greenhouse before it got too busy. Luckily, Sitri shared the same sleeping habits, sleeping long and heavy, so Rhea was able to slip out of their bed and get Byleth up without disturbing her.

Things went even more smoothly once Byleth learned about their mission for the day. The sleepiness in her eyes disappeared at once, and she was ready to move to the greenhouse, fueled by her innate love of gift-giving. Rhea normally preferred to express her emotions through words and physical touch, but both Sitri and Byleth preferred to show their love through gifts—Byleth through whatever critters she found roaming around the monastery, and Sitri with poems or flowers.

Rhea thought herself a fairly talented songstress, but to her, poetry wasn’t quite the same...and she wasn’t sure Sitri would take too kindly to being brought caterpillars as a gift. So, she settled on flowers, taking Byleth to the greenhouse early each morning for weeks in order to tend to the flowers they were growing for Sitri. Byleth was quite the good helper, and by the time the flowers were in full bloom, Rhea was confident that they’d both contributed to the perfect gift for Sitri.

Rhea had considered picking roses for Sitri, but Byleth had been taken with another monastery-goer’s sunflowers as soon as she saw them, and that was the flower they decided to grow. Byleth was probably drawn to its bright colors, but Rhea was instantly reminded of Sitri’s smile and sunny demeanor upon looking at the yellow tint. It was relatively simple to tend to, as well, while still yielding such a beautiful result.

Byleth seemed more energetic and expressive than usual when Rhea told her the flowers were ready to be picked. She was so eager that she nearly ran off to Sitri with the flowers in hand, but Rhea—patiently, of course—stopped her so that they could put them in an ornamental vase. With that, the flowers they’d worked so hard on were finally ready for presentation.

“She will be so happy,” Rhea said, beaming as she carried the flowers up to her office, where Sitri would surely be waiting by then. Byleth nodded excitedly. She was still quiet, but Rhea was very in-tune with her moods, and she knew that Byleth was over the moon. Rhea held the flowers close to her chest, keeping them safe until they could reach Sitri’s hands.

The sun had fully risen by the time they reached Rhea’s office. Just as Rhea had expected, Sitri was sitting in Rhea’s desk chair, warmly bathed in sunlight. She looked a bit sleepy, mirroring her daughter’s expression with half-lidded eyes and pouty lips. But, much like Byleth, she lit up when she saw the flowers in Rhea’s hands, waking up almost immediately.

“Rhea...! Are these for me?”

“Flowers such as these could complement the smile of no other,” Rhea said.

Sitri seemed almost hesitant to take the vase, as if afraid that she might break it, but she took it from Rhea’s hands anyway and set it down in front of her, quite gingerly. Byleth ran up to her side, wordlessly touching her leg; Sitri turned her attention away from the flowers and towards Byleth, cupping her cheeks. “Did you help do this? They’re so beautiful!” Sitri lifted Byleth into her lap, then took a flower out of the vase, shook it free of water, and handed it to Byleth. Byleth was usually rather rough with things, so Rhea was pleased with how careful she was with the sunflower, looking at its petals with interest. 

The sight of Sitri, holding their daughter in her lap and fawning over the flowers they’d grown, was nothing short of euphoric for Rhea. She took a seat in the chair across from Sitri’s, leaning over the desk to rest her chin in her hands. “Byleth worked very hard to tend to the flowers. She is quite the talented gardener.”

“Is that so? Maybe we’ll have to plant some for Mother, too,” Sitri said, in a conspiratorial whisper. Byleth glanced at Rhea, as if to make sure that she didn’t hear, before looking up at Sitri and nodding. “Yes? I think we should!”

“There is no need, Sitri. I thought of it on a whim, and...I am glad that you enjoy them, of course.”

“I don’t know much about gardening, though...how do I make sure they don’t wilt? They’re so bright and tall, I’d hate to ruin it.”

Rhea laughed at Sitri’s exasperated expression, but straightened up after she realized how troubled she seemed to be. “Keeping them in water will certainly help, but Byleth seems quite reluctant to let go of hers.”

“Oh! I’ll keep the rest of them in here, then,” Sitri said. “We should leave them on your desk, Rhea. So they can brighten up the room as you work. I spend a lot of time here, anyways, so I’ll be able to see them, too.”

Sitri was so giving, almost to a fault. Of course, even a gift that had been grown specifically for her was, in her mind, meant to be shared with others. But if keeping the vase in her office meant more sweet moments with Sitri...

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, my love.”

* * *

Byleth was quite fond of the flowers, and it was rather hard for Rhea to pull her away and put her down for her afternoon nap, but she was always asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Rhea cherished time alone with Sitri just as much as she cherished the time they spent together with their daughter, so those nap-times were normally reserved for an early lunch or a walk around the monastery together. The flowers seemed to have awakened Sitri’s love for nature; hand-in-hand, they strolled around the monastery. 

Sitri looked at everything as if she had seen it for the first time, all of the trees and the plants and the small variety of wildlife. But again and again, she kept glancing down at the sunflower in her hand, the one she had pried from Byleth’s tiny fingers. Every time Rhea caught her looking at it, they shared a smile.

As their walk slowed to a stop in one of the more secluded courtyards, Sitri ran her thumb across the petals of the flower, so engrossed in its beauty that Rhea had to guide her to sit on one of the benches. They talked for a bit, about the goings-on of the monastery, the weather, what they’d eaten recently—anything was a topic of conversation for Sitri, who found great interest in whatever she laid her eyes on.

Soon enough, the chat drifted back to the flowers. “They’re so lovely, but I worry that they will wilt, soon,” she said, wearing that same fretful expression.

Rhea always struggled expressing things like that to Sitri. She surely understood that flowers, much like all living things, were destined to die, but the sadness of her realization always made Rhea’s heart ache. “It will, eventually...but Byleth and I are certainly not opposed to planting more.”

“If that’s the case, then I’d want to help you,” Sitri said. “Byleth and I can tend to some just for you—and then we can plant some as a family, too! Maybe some vegetables, and we can cook them all together.”

Oh, Sitri had so many wonderful ideas. Rhea could hardly find the time to satisfy them all. Gardening was easy, though, as long as Rhea woke up early and tended to her plants before the rest of her day started. Sitri and Byleth were not early risers, though...well, Rhea would find a way to get them up in the morning. “On second thought, bringing Byleth into the kitchen might be a little too...”

Sitri had been looking at the flowers again, and perked up when Rhea spoke. “Ah, what was that?”

“Ah—nothing for you to concern yourself with, my love.” Rhea glanced at the small wrist watch she wore on her arm, surprised to see how quickly the time had passed. “Dear me. We ought to wake Byleth, or else she will grow restless at bedtime.”

Although she looked reluctant, Sitri stood as Rhea did. Just as Rhea was about to take Sitri’s arm so they could walk to Byleth’s room, Sitri took hers, grabbing her by the sleeve quite insistently. Rhea turned, pleased to see that Sitri’s earlier sullen expression had disappeared. “Before we go back...thank you again for the flowers, Rhea.”

“There is truly no need to thank me. I did it out of love for you—even though such a thing surely could not encompass the entirety of what I feel for you.”

It was quite easy for Rhea to make Sitri blush, and she never got tired of seeing it. What was less common was Sitri responding with something that made Rhea’s cheeks heat in kind. “There are other ways for you to show me, then, right?”

“Oh? Such as...a new owl feather? A new novel? A different sort of flower, perhaps?”

Sitri giggled at Rhea’s teasing, gently rolling the flower’s stem between her fingers. “Rhea...!”

“No? None of those?”

“A kiss would do much better,” Sitri said. “Please?”

Rhea never expected anything less than a kind demeanor from Sitri, even in their private moments. With a laugh like that, and such a sweet little “please”, it was hard for Rhea to say no. Sitri slotted herself into Rhea’s arms in a way that was quite familiar to the both of them, and Rhea responded by pressing her lips against Sitri’s. Sitri showed her approval with a stroke of her thumb against the back of Rhea’s neck.

Even as Rhea’s eyes slipped shut, she found Sitri’s cheek with her hand, cupping it. Sitri was always rather forward when it came to kisses, so the feeling of a warm tongue coaxing Rhea’s lips apart, although pleasant, was far from surprising. Sitri had no qualms about kissing Rhea no matter where they were and no matter how passionate they were; Rhea had been a bit shy at first, but Sitri was far too intoxicating for Rhea to turn her down for long.

Kissing Sitri in the courtyard, surrounded by the calm breezes and blooming flowers that Sitri so adored, felt more right than anything Rhea had ever done. Despite the setting of the monastery they loved so much warming their hearts, feeling Sitri’s lips move against hers created an otherworldly feeling in Rhea’s lovestruck mind. It was only when Sitri broke the kiss that Rhea opened her eyes and remembered where she was, the things she had to do—looking at Sitri’s pleased face grounded her.

“Well? Does that make it clear, now, how much I love you?”

“Hm...one more thing, I think,” Sitri said. She took Rhea’s hand and opened her palm, placing the sunflower in it. “Put it in my hair! So we can match.” Rhea’s hand absently went to the flowers in her own hair, and she grinned at Sitri’s enthusiasm. It was a little harder to keep the flower in place, since Sitri didn’t have a complicated little headpiece for the flower to be tucked into, but a small braid did the trick. A flower that brightly-colored next to a face that vibrant and beautiful—it should have been a sin, Rhea thought. “How does it look? Oh, we should fetch a mirror. And another flower, so we can put one in Byleth’s hair as well.”

Again, Rhea’s mind raced to keep up with Sitri, and all of her sweet ideas. Byleth would love a flower in her hair, especially if she saw Rhea and Sitri wearing them...Rhea would have to get more lilies, too, so they could match exactly.

Sitri’s enthusiasm was infectious, as was her love and her laugh. Rhea was glad she’d gotten to see such happiness from the flowers, after putting so much work into them. Now, she just had to think of another idea to follow up.

Sitri suddenly took Rhea’s hand, guiding her towards the upper floor and breaking her out of thought. “We can wake Byleth up and play for a bit, then go to the greenhouse and look for vegetable seeds! Let’s hurry, so you can show me how to do it before too many people get there.”

Yes, Rhea had to think of something spectacular to one-up the flowers. Sitri was certainly deserving, and Rhea would do anything to see that smile...

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to [follow me on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/cathrheas)


End file.
